Mick Jaggar, by Andy Warhol. Mick recently turned 80. |
"There is no such person as a stranger. Everybody needs compassion."
-Yoko Ono
It’s different today, Charlesy,
This is an occupied country.
America, held by force.
America, prisoner to the rich fascists,
Prisoner to the police, to money,
Commerce, industry, debt,
War for profit, more debt, stupidity.
America, prisoner to hatred.
Hard to believe that about fifty years
Have passed since we rode my truck
Through the back streets of Dallas,
Getting high, music up loud,
Reaching in each other’s pants in the dark.
And the Dallas police laughed at you,
A skinny girl who told them off,
Yelling that their search was illegal.
We had to pour out the beer,
We were only seventeen years old,
But they left the pot alone, pretending
Not to see it. You were right,
The search really was illegal.
And I was proud of you. Later, high,
You held me tight in your little fist
And my fingers were in you.
Did we want more? Yes... and no.
We were still just scared kids, really,
And we finished with our hands
And drove off down the street,
Feeling wild and sexy and brave.
No fascists controlled us, we were free.
We made our own choices.
-james lee jobe
It’s important to remember that until we straighten up our own lives, we probably won’t be that much help to anyone else.
-Clancy Martin, “It’s All for the Better”
Check my pockets. I am not tame, and I do not obey.
That is not my nature, friend.
I am not going to beg at the breakfast table like a dog.
A flag of welcome? A welcome mat at the door? Hardly.
Check my hands for a weapon. Check my pockets, my car.
I am a snake. I am a hyena, a professional liar.
And I will smile like a child just before I strike.
-james lee jobe
GAZING OUT FROM THE UPPER TERRACE, FAREWELL TO LI
in farewell on the terrace
we gaze across the vast plains and rivers
it is sunset
birds in flight returning
travelers setting out
this never ends
WANG WEI, 701-761 CE
"The greatest threat to freedom is the absence of criticism."
-Wole Soyinka
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James
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